Q: What is the fuss about that networking and why is it
╟officially unsupported╚?
A: Pro DJs always have a headphone, in which they can check the position of the turntable, the CD player or the DAT deck before they fade them into the outgoing program (they call this function pre-fade-listening ╨ PFL). Since the Mac has only one soundchip, you can only generate one (stereo) audio stream ╨ and you need that one for the outgoing music program. So how can we connect a headphone if we don't want to buy an additional sound card (or just are not able to install it ╨ just think of all the iMacs, iBooks and PowerBooks in the world that are damned to have one single sound chip!)? On Air tries a different approach: It uses a networking connection to another copy of On Air that runs on a second Mac ╨ and uses the sound chip in the second Mac as sound chip for the headphones! Of course, you have to have two Macs ╨ but you might be able to borrow one from a friend or might be able to use an older one you already have. The one On Air copy on your main computer is then the so-called ╟Master╚, the copy on the second Mac is the so-called ╟Slave╚. Master On Air can remote control Slave On Air ╨╩very easy, and you hear anything you do via the remote control function in your headphones, but not in the outgoing program! To cut the story short: You get something like a ╟virtual pre-fade-listening╚ (vPFL) via an Ethernet or even AirPort (yes, that's Apple's wireless netwoirking technology!).
Now, if everything is as good as it sounds ╨ why do we call it ╟officially unsupported╚? The problem is that setting up a networking connection (independently of On Air's functions) can sometimes be quite a challange ╨ and depends on lots of setting in lots of control panels. Besides, depending on your networking connection, connecting two copies of On Air is not always very easy. But still: If you get your networking connection done, the networking functions of On Air do work! It's just that I cannot give advice to anyone how to setup their network ╨ but if you think you can manage that, it might be worth checking out On Air's networking functions! But, at any rate, the double licence and the commercial double licence are two licences in the first place ╨ and only offer access to the unsupported networking functions aside. There is no warranty at all for these functions!
(Read more about this topic in the ╟Networking╚ chapter in the manual!)
Q: What is the channel split PFL good for then?
A: The channel split PFL allows you to have a pre-fade-listing function with only one Mac. You assign one channel of the stereo signal as the PFL channel ╨ and use a cable (available in most electronics shops) to split the stereo signal. The PFL assigned channel is then connected to a headphone, the other channel is connected to the amplifier. The main disadvantage however is that this way you can only use a monophonc signal for the outgoing signal and the PFL signal in your headphones. For may occasions such as DJ performace, a monophonic channel will do very well (in most cases, people on the dancefloor will not hear stereophonic effects anyway!). If you want to have stereo output and (stereophonic) PFL, you will have to stick with the ╟virtual PFL╚ solution discussed above and in On Air's manual.
Q: I don't hear anything in the channel split PFL channel!
A: On Air allows you to use the crossfader in PFL mode, too. Please make sure the crossfader is in the center so that you can hear your player in PFL mode.
Q: When I press ╟Play╚ to start a track, it takes some seconds
until On Air plays!
A: If you have an older Macintosh and have the ╟Playback Info╚ option engaged (especially when a HTML mode is selected), you might with some tracks (that feature more text inforamtion) encounter some latency between the moment you press play and the moment the music plays or the time display reacts. The same problem can also occurr, when you drag the volume slider from zero upwards (with AutoStart enabled). Choose a text only output mode or disable the ╟Playback Info╚ option in the Preferences in order to do away with these problems.
Q: How come my AutoPlay list does not fade?
A: The AutoPlay list does not fade if you assign the same track twice (right one after the other). Please remove one of the entries in the AutoPlay list or drag another track inbetween.
Q: I cannot open the ╟BPM Edit╚ window!
A: On Air 2.1 has a new shortcut in order to open the ╟BPM Edit╚ window: Keep the Shift key pressed down while you click into the BPM display of a player.
Q: I cannot play back MP3 files!
A: On Air needs QuickTime 4.x. in order to play back MP3 files. If you want to play MP3 files, that use the VBR (variable bitrate) technology, you will even need to have QuickTime 4.1 (or newer) installed. Please check Apple's QuickTime-Homepage from time to time and download the latest version of QuickTime for free directly from Apple at www.apple.com.
Q: Some MP3 files cannot be opened. There is always an error
dialog appearing.
A: Probably, your MP3 file uses the VBR technology. You will need QuickTime 4.1 or later in order to play it back (see above!). You could however, also have an MP2 file. MP2 files cannot be played back using QuickTime at the moment. Please stay tuned for newer versions of QuickTime. (As soon as QuickTime supports MP2 files, you can play back MP2 in On Air, too!).
Q: Some files don't show any ID3 information.
A: Is the ╟ID3 Readout╚ option in the preferences active? If yes, there might still be some other ID3 format (or maybe also a damaged ID3 information) in your file, so that On Air cannot display it. On Air supports ID3v1, ID3v2 and ID3v2.3.
Q: Can I use On Air in order to mix down and burn an Audio CD?
A: Not the direct way. On Air was developed to be a tool in a real-time environment for radio programs and DJ performances. On Air cannot control your CD recorder. In theory, you might be able to record the realtime mixing in On Air with anotther AIFF recording program. You could then burn such an AIFF file to a CD using a standard CD recording software. However, this seems to be rather complicated and has not been tested.
You can however connect the sound output of your Mac to a Audio-CD-Recorder (egg. a Philips CD-Recorder) and record a CD like this. You should get the cable needed for such a connection in any electronics shop.
Q: Playing back music with On Air does actually work, but there are
oftern annoying sound dropouts.
A: Probably, you have Virtual Memory activated. Try disabling it in the ╟Memory╚ contol panel and restart your computer. On Air should then play audio without drop outs.
If you still encounter dropouts, your computer might be too slow for the needs of On Air. On Air is expressly recommended for Macintosh computers that feature a G3 processor or newer (any iMac, iBook or any better Mac should be okay!). Besides, On Air might also run on many 60x-based Macs, but the use of On Air on such machines is not recommended (however, try it out, if you like!), and please don't be disappointed, if your old PowerMac cannot play two MP3 tracks at a time... ;-)
If you have a newer Macintosh and still encounter drop outs, try turning off tasks that consume lots of your processors capacity: Screensavers can (depending on the product) be very bad, but also networking extensions can make a bad sound. Try turning off any networking features you do not really use. Make sure the ╟Chooser╚ window is closed. And maybe, it might help to turn AppleTalk off (in the ╟Chooser╚ window).
Q: How can I hook up my Mac to an amplifier?
A: Simply connect the headphone output of your Mac to the sound input jacks of your amplifier (or egg. to the AUX input of your stereo equipment!). The cables needed for that connection should be available in any electronics shop or radio/tv store.
Q: How can I change the size of On Air's window?
A: You cannot change the size of On Air's window. On Air was developed to fit the small 12" screen of an iBook. Besides, there might be extensions that can work together with On Air and can be visible on the same 12" screen.
